Au: Regular
Tags/Warnings: GN! Reader, mentions of sex-ed and well sex stuff, mentions of achohol, smoking, swearing
Word Count: 3.2k+
•──────⋅☼⋅──────•
Karasuno looked like an old friend grown weary and tired from age. Cracks were showing on the concrete exterior like wrinkles, and algae and moss were appearing along with other stains on every face of the school possible. It was old, holding generations of stories from students that hid in its darkest corners and ran down its stretching halls. You had memories of your own inside.
The school was nearly empty. So when you opened the front doors in the middle of the day to an empty building, you weren't surprised. With it being summer break, many students had decided to take time off and go on a trip or just relax. Few groups or individuals, made up of only the most dedicated students, returned to the school for organized clubs.
You made your way through the main hall, glancing at the yearly graduation photos, hoping to find your name and face among them. It was years ago now. Nearly ten? It felt like too long ago.
Not everyone enjoyed their high school experiences. You were one of those that did. Much preferring the level of work and environment of high school in comparison to University where everyone seemed to be jumping off the deep end of the pool. You made it out, albeit shivering, soaked, and gasping for air.
Class of 2004. The picture was framed like all the others and you quickly skimmed through the portraits. Everyone looked very neutral in them like they could be a student now instead of ten years ago. That was thanks to the strict rules for photos and in school. You were glad. I never want to see leopard print again. The thought made you want to apologize to your mom for insisting on buying all those fur-trimmed accessories and leopard everything that quickly fell out of trend within two years.
"You're here!" The vice-principal panted as he jogged down the hall from the office. His cheeks were red, likely from the heat, and his toupee bounced on his head. You stifled a laugh. The tackiness must have failed because of the sweat. "Come in and join us in the teacher's lounge. Everyone's taking a break from clubs because of the heat."
"Is there air conditioning in the lounge?"
"No, it broke this morning. But there is ice."
You cringed, wiping the back of your thumb underneath your nose. "Pleasant. Lead the way."
He continued to pull on the collar of his shirt while walking you the rest of the way down, fanning himself.
Everyone in the teacher's lounge seemed to be melting into the chairs beside one who frantically scurried around, saying something about needing a wide paint brush that she swore was in one of her cabinets. Art teacher, you guessed, probably holding an art club. Once found, she rushed toward the exit, smiling at you as she left.
"This is your desk here, should you use it," the vice-principal said as he gestured to a corner cubical while he found a napkin to wipe his forehead.
"Ah yes, my home base. I don't presume I have a classroom of my own, do I?"
"No, but there are a couple of spare classrooms should you need to book the space for a health lesson, and the clubrooms have an additional office for when you need it."
That made you feel bad for the other teachers, who were left to only a classroom and cubical. Just as the thought left you, the other teachers began to pack themselves together and make their way back to whatever club they were supervising.
"Should I go take a look at the gym and club rooms then?" you smiled.
"Smart ideas, you can get reacquainted with the space. Takeda!"
A man with glasses lifted onto his hairline and green track jacket over his shoulders looked over from the other end of the room. He swayed over, dazed from the heat, before bowing in front of you. You reciprocated the gesture, noticing the bags of ice he had hidden behind his legs.
"Takeda here is the coach of the boy's volleyball team; he can bring you down to the gym."
"Sir, I'm more of a supervisor. Ukai does the actual coaching." Takeda flushed and shifted his weight. Behind him, the ice clinked together. You blinked at the new name.
"Ah right, I still have to work on paying that man. It would probably be easier to have him added to the staff. I'll do that now."
"I'm sure he'd appreciate that." Takeda smiled as the vice president walked off into what you guessed was his office before turning your way. "Shall we get going then?"
"Sure. Should I grab some more ice?"
Takeda paused, lifting the bags of ice to his chest with an open mouth, thinking. "You know, that might be smart."
You grabbed three bags of ice, which made Takeda baulked slightly before sighing about being surrounded by athletes all the time.
Once you got to the gym, the smile on your face grew exponentially. Like the rest of the school, it looked worse for wear, but the content feeling in your stomach grew.
"Ah, old friend."
"You were a student here, right?"
"Years ago, I finished all my schooling, though, and immediately came back."
The doors to the gym were wide open, letting in any fresh air that would come by.
"Normally, people want to leave their home towns and never return."
"Eh, well, there are things I left behind and nowhere else felt like home."
A raspy voice —loud but sounding drained and worn out— yelled at some of the other people in the gym while you followed Takeda inside.
"Crow Connection?!"
"Ah, fuck."
You dropped your pounds of ice next to the door, stalking toward the man. He frowned, the skin beneath his eyes pulling down with his mouth. You gripped his arm and began wrestling him around, tucking back and forth like a ragdoll with a broken voice box.
"Come on, Weakling, give me something here."
"How do you still have so much energy?" The man groaned once you finally managed to make him hunch over, wrap your arm over his shoulder, and dig your hand into his hair.
"I get paid for having energy. Wow, you've let this grow out. It looks good, but I still think black suits you more. Now, who are these kids?" You grinned at the faces that turned your way like mannequins in a window.
"Boy's volleyball team."
"Ya, no kidding, but who are they?"
Takeda, who had put the ice into a cooler with help from a blonde girl, suggested a water break.
While the players grabbed their bottles and chunks of ice, the girl, who you learned was called Yachi, quickly rattled off each of the other students names for you and their years and positions before joining them on their break.
Takeda returned to your side soon after, green jacket discarded. "So you two know each other?"
"He's my best friend!"
"I thought I escaped this six years ago. Why are you even here?"
"I'm the new physical education teacher!"
Ukai gave Takeda a confused look.
"Mr. Takeshi retired early."
"Hey, Shinshin, don't look so glum. This is good news!"
"Why do you still remember all these nicknames?" He groaned.
"Cause you're my favourite person of course!"
•──────⋅☼⋅──────•
As a phys-ed teacher you knew you'd have to step up in certain ways. Sure, making sure teenagers got their exercise in was one thing, and making sure they weren't injured was another, but you knew teens pretty well, you were one not too long ago. But the one section you knew you had to exceed expectations, even if it went against the laid out materials and could get you a number of calls from angry parents, was sex education.
You were a teen once after all, you knew what teens were like.
You sectioned off two weeks just for classroom learning. The kids weren't fond of it at first, so you had to promise including fun games, between their bi-weekly physical tests (which were to track how far and long they could run, how strong they were, and how flexible).
The first week was for physical health, starting with food and exercise, then into basic injuries that they may encounter day to day or while exercising, how to assess their pain, and following steps. Then toward the end of the week it went into explanations of more traumatic injuries, and how to handle a few in emergency situations along with the suggestion of them getting cpr training among other things (a few students came up to you afterward to learn more about the certification, which you were happy to provide). The last day was reserved for mental health.
If the first week was dull, the second week had students up in the ceiling like helium went to their heads. Sex education: they needed it, every single gory detail, everything your teachers never taught you when your were their age. It was fun until the topic had changed from anatomy, sex safety, and gender and sexuality to STDs and STI's, pregnancy, and sexual assault. Again, you used the Friday for mental health.
When you told them you were going over everything, they didn't believe you.
You never tested them on their knowledge, hoping that keeping themselves healthy would be enough of a reason to pay attention, and instead answered their questions, in front of the class or in private. The spare club room was being used more often than you had expected.
It drained them mentally, you could practically see the clouds stirring over their heads when they left class the last day. But it was worth it once you saw their smiles upon being rewarded with dodgeball the following Monday, even if they were playing in the blistering heat.
Word had spread among students and you even had one's you did teach coming to ask you questions between classes.
Ukai stared at you with squinted eyes while you stood before him and Takeda during their water break.
"You told them they could have sex in your office."
"No... I said I had condoms in my office and if you needed anything they could ask me for the key so long as they brought it back by the end of the day." You grinned.
"You told them they could have sex in your office."
"As if we didn't."
Takeda snorted, interrupting the back and forth. "You may want to keep your voices down, the kids might hear you."
Ukai huffed. "Not like it matters, they're already having sex in the spare club room."
"I put a couch just in case."
"Of course you did."
•──────⋅☼⋅──────•
You were in the gym's storage room during club time holding a soccer ball between your knees with a manual pump in hand when Ukai found you.
"This ball has popped," you said, taking the needle out of it and tossing it to the side where it bounced with a sad thump.
"Grab another then," he said while grabbing the basket of volleyballs.
You pointed in the direction you had just tossed the ball seconds earlier. "They're all popped."
In the corner was a small pile of deflated balls laying like they too had too much of the heat.
"Oh."
"I'm gonna have to make orders on a bunch of equipment. Do you need anything for volleyball? I haven't looked at that yet."
Ukai shook his head. "We got a bunch of new stuff after proving our worth and getting to nationals. It took some community funding and a grant, but we managed to replace all the old stuff that couldn't keep up with the monsters. The track team does well every year too, so the track is never out of shape and they've always got what they need."
You laughed, throwing your head back and seeing the webs that built into the corners of the room. "There's so much to do. I think some of this stuff is from our time and even then they were like antiques. Makes me wonder if we're gonna outlive this place and watch it crumble."
Ukai pushed the basket into the gym, letting it roll into the empty space before coming to sit across from you. He nudged your leg with the sole of his shoe. "This place has a solid foundation. There will be ups and downs with every new year as there always has been, but it's not falling any time soon."
You retaliated by shoving your heel into his shin. He cursed and rolled onto his back, holding the abused spot. "Don't go breaking on me then, we got to grow old with this place."
"Sure, sure just stop kicking me."
"I didn't kick you, it was more of a stomp, a sideways stomp."
Rolling back to sit straight, he glared at you. "Like that makes a difference."
"It makes all the difference. Plus, it was playful, not aggressive."
"You're going to put me in an early grave."
"Nah, you're smoking will do that. But don't worry, you won't get rid of me that easily, I'll be buried right next to ya."
"Great."
There was a pause and the two of you looked into the empty gym where the warm sun shone through the skylights to hit the wood floor. It was quite a pretty sight, gentle and nostalgic.
"Let's get married here."
"Shut up." Ukai looked down to his lap with an amused huff. "You'd deserve something better. Someone better."
"Eh, I have a taste for mediocrity." :D :)
"Hey," he protested, shoving your shoulder backwards. "I'm glad you're back."
"Oh, say it again."
"I'm happy that you're here again."
You gralled onto your knees and stalked toward him. There was a sharp smile tugging on your lips that made him internally sigh and cringe.
"One more time."
"Nope, I said nothing."
"Oh come on."
Ukai couldn't help but smile.
•──────⋅☼⋅──────•
Hinata, for what it was worth, wasn't a bad student in your class. In fact, he was one of your favourites, eager to learn as much as he could to maintain and improve his physical health. Part of you thought that he appreciated the loose grading approach you took that gave him the opportunity to use what he'd learned rather than be tested on it. But it seemed that he was just always eager to be active in some way.
The boy, not aiming to go to university, spent most of his free time researching everything surrounding athletic health, and his sport of choice. You didn't think he'd be interested in beach volleyball at first, but after an enthused explanation, you understood.
With that understanding, you couldn't help but go out and buy some cookbooks for the class, giving him your 'personal' copies that he could take home.
It made Ukai sigh. "You're gonna steal my job," he said after you handed the third-year the books before a club practice.
"I hardly think meal plans are a part of our occupations. But knowing the both of us, we care too much to not."
Ukai huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.
Takeda grinned. "We don't get paid enough for it but we do anyway. Of course not everyone does, but they are the ones that put their relationship with their pupils in jeopardy. It's the role of a mentor, not just a teacher."
"Hmm, mentor, I like that. Takeda, do you think I could get the kids to call me master or something?"
The older man laughed. "If you can make it a joke, I'm sure they'd play along."
Ukai grumbled, "Don't encourage them."
"Oh, come on, weakling. You could be my protégé."
"Who's to say I wouldn't be the master, huh?"
"I'm the one with the degree."
"Let's drink to see who's better than."
"You're a drunkard, I can't beat you at a drinking game!"
Takeda, too amused to end the bickering, called the players together and sent them off to warm up without Ukai's assistance.
•──────⋅☼⋅──────•
The last time you saw him, back in highschool, his hair had still been buzzed almost completely off and you were about a week away from moving to Tokyo while his plans were to help his grandmother by taking over the shop his family owned. Your departure didn't feel sudden or leave you feeling homesick, but while you never had thought you'd ever not be a part of Ukai's life you couldn't help but notice the gaping hole in your memories where you weren't around in his life.
You never got to see his hair grow out or get dyed blond, or watch his stubble grow out. You weren't around to try and prevent his cigarette addiction, or drag him out to play whatever sport was on your mind for the week. You weren't there to comfort him when his grandfather, the biggest, most important person in his life, had to be taken to the hospital due to his gradually worsening health. It felt like your puzzle pieces had been worn down in different environments and didn't fit together like before.
Home had changed into something you weren't quite familiar with.
"Kei, you should stop working on the farm. You'll break your back."
"I need to make money to make up for not being at the shop while I'm with the team. I've been doing it for over two years now, it's fine." He grumbled, flipping the page of his newspaper with a puff of smoke.
With a huff, you pinched the man's cheeks, tilting his head up, and pulled the burning cigarette out from between his lips. "You're gonna look like you're an old man by the time you're 30."
"I'm only 28." Ukai's eyes followed you while you walked over to the ashtray by the window and smushed the rest of the stick into a pulp. He gulped, turning his head down to the newspaper only to find he couldn't read it.
When you returned, Ukai's fingers tightened on the paper. He waited, keeping his eyes on the news, but following your movements in his peripherals. You sat back down beside him, resting one of your feet on the shelves behind the counter. "That's only two years away."
You were smirking at him.
"Oh, fuck off. I don't look that old."
"Tell that to your smoking wrinkles." Ukai jumped when the pad of your thumb dragged across the skin around his mouth, as if trying to massage the lines away like they were makeup.
He met our eyes, desperately trying to not let them flicker down to your lips that he knew were smiling gently at him. Ukai whispered, "There's still a pack in my pocket."
Keeping his eyes on yours, he felt your other hand trail down his side and into the pocket of his apron were the nearly finished pack sat. You stole it, and slid it down the counter behind you, out of reach from him.
"Gone." Your breath was warm on his cheeks.
"I own a convenience store, you'll have a hard time stopping me from grabbing another."
"I guess I'll just have to stick around then."
His eyes closed at the feeling of your smile against his own.
•──────⋅☼⋅──────•
So Keishin Ukai (烏養 繋心) can translate to Crow Connection (roughly) and I nearly cried so ya. Just some fluff for Ukai.
Also, my Harry Potter phase is back in full swing.
And I have to do multiple interviews on American news stations, yay.
Kiwi and I also realised that we are kind of on opposite sides on the vampire/werewolf coin... it's not hard to guess who's who. - Bacon
Lmao it really isn't that hard - kiwi
Posted: 05/06/2022